समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः । शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānapamānayoḥ | śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ ||
Translation
Equal toward enemy and friend, and equal also in honor and dishonor — equal in cold and heat, pleasure and pain — free from attachment —
Interpretation
The quality of samata (equanimity, equality) applied across three domains: (1) shatrou ca mitre ca — equal toward enemy and friend (the most socially challenging equality, the one that challenges the ego most directly); (2) tatha mana-apamanayoh — equal in honor and dishonor (equally stable whether praised or criticized); (3) shitoshna-sukha-duhkheshu sama (equal in the physical opposites of cold/heat and pleasure/pain). And the root quality: sanga-vivarjita — free from attachment (the internal condition that makes all the external equalities possible).